After Growing Pressure, Federal Inquiry Begins Into Muslim Students’ Killings
By JONATHAN M. KATZ and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑAFEB. 13, 2015
Photo
People gathered to pray outside the White House on Friday in response to the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina. Credit Jabin Botsford/The New York Times
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — President Obama on Friday condemned the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina as federal investigators said they had begun an inquiry into whether the fatal shooting here on Tuesday night was a hate crime.
“No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship,” the president said in a statement released by the White House. “As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family.”
The president’s comments, coming as the F.B.I., federal prosecutors and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice announced they would look into the killings, followed growing pressure from Muslim groups around the country and the world who have complained about a lack of attention to the case.
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The three students — Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; her husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 — were shot and killed on Tuesday at an apartment complex near the University of North Carolina here. The police initially said the incident appeared to have been caused by a long-running parking dispute between the students and a white neighbor, Craig Hicks, 46, who later turned himself in.
He has been charged with three counts of murder.
After the president’s comments, investigators revealed in a search warrant that they had seized at least a dozen firearms — including handguns, shotguns, rifles and a black Bushmaster AR-15 — from Mr. Hicks’s apartment, which was in the same building as the married couple’s. The authorities also seized an extensive collection of ammunition, holsters, cases and scopes. Several of the weapons, including the AR-15, still had fully loaded magazines. Others, including a Sig Sauer .22 handgun, were empty of cartridges. Additionally, investigators seized two computer hard drive towers, a digital camera and three cellphones.
Mr. Hicks had a long record of heated confrontations with many people over the limited parking at the development, but the victims’ families have insisted that the killings were motivated at least in part by hatred of Muslims. They note that the police told them Mr. Hicks shot all three students in the head, and that his Facebook postings were full of scorn for religion in all forms.
Officials say the police are now searching his computer for signs of a motive or evidence that he had planned the attack.
Muslims all over the world, especially in messages on Twitter marked with the phrase #muslimlivesmatter, had been pushing for days for a full federal investigation.
The government of Jordan — former home of the family of the two sisters who were killed — has advised that it was closely watching the case, while the prime minister of Turkey rebuked Mr. Obama early Friday for not speaking out. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, also extended condolences to the victims’ families.
Across the United States, Muslim groups have organized dozens of vigils, including a group prayer outside the White House on Friday afternoon.
Many advocates for Muslims, civil rights groups and the victims’ families said Friday that they welcomed the F.B.I. inquiry, adding that it sent a much-needed message that the federal government took anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias seriously.
“Everybody in both families — brothers, sisters, parents — believes wholeheartedly that this is a hate crime, so they feel validated that the F.B.I. is looking into it,” said Linda Sarsour, who has acted as a spokeswoman for the families. “We’re in a pretty critical juncture when it comes to Americans and Islam.”
The shooting has heightened concerns about personal security in the Muslim community. Fire damaged an Islamic center in Houston on Friday morning, prompting speculation about another bias crime. And Muslim leaders have voiced fears that a “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,” with Mr. Obama scheduled to meet with Muslim-American leaders next week, will fan anti-Muslim sentiment.
The F.B.I. and the White House appear to have shifted course in part because of the worry and outrage.
The F.B.I. at first said that it would aid in the investigation by local and state authorities, but would not conduct its own investigation. When asked on Wednesday about the shootings, a White House spokesman said, “We’re going to await the results of that investigation before we say anything.”
Then, late Thursday, the F.B.I. issued a statement that federal authorities had “opened a parallel preliminary inquiry,” something short of a full-fledged investigation, “to determine whether or not any federal laws were violated related to the case.”
Those who have talked with the victims’ families say they have serious doubts about the capacity of local authorities to handle the case.
“As of yesterday, the family hadn’t even been approached by law enforcement,” Ms. Sarsour said on Friday. “They were already feeling like there was something missing.”
Ripley Rand, the United States attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said his office was committed to fully investigating the case, adding that it was important that Muslims know that the federal government was taking what happened seriously. “I intend to review every piece of evidence involved in it to make sure that we do our part to see that justice is done,” Mr. Rand said. “This is obviously a matter of global concern.”
By JONATHAN M. KATZ and RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑAFEB. 13, 2015
Photo
People gathered to pray outside the White House on Friday in response to the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina. Credit Jabin Botsford/The New York Times
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — President Obama on Friday condemned the killing of three Muslim students in North Carolina as federal investigators said they had begun an inquiry into whether the fatal shooting here on Tuesday night was a hate crime.
“No one in the United States of America should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship,” the president said in a statement released by the White House. “As we saw with the overwhelming presence at the funeral of these young Americans, we are all one American family.”
The president’s comments, coming as the F.B.I., federal prosecutors and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice announced they would look into the killings, followed growing pressure from Muslim groups around the country and the world who have complained about a lack of attention to the case.
Related Coverage
The three students — Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; her husband, Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19 — were shot and killed on Tuesday at an apartment complex near the University of North Carolina here. The police initially said the incident appeared to have been caused by a long-running parking dispute between the students and a white neighbor, Craig Hicks, 46, who later turned himself in.
He has been charged with three counts of murder.
After the president’s comments, investigators revealed in a search warrant that they had seized at least a dozen firearms — including handguns, shotguns, rifles and a black Bushmaster AR-15 — from Mr. Hicks’s apartment, which was in the same building as the married couple’s. The authorities also seized an extensive collection of ammunition, holsters, cases and scopes. Several of the weapons, including the AR-15, still had fully loaded magazines. Others, including a Sig Sauer .22 handgun, were empty of cartridges. Additionally, investigators seized two computer hard drive towers, a digital camera and three cellphones.
Mr. Hicks had a long record of heated confrontations with many people over the limited parking at the development, but the victims’ families have insisted that the killings were motivated at least in part by hatred of Muslims. They note that the police told them Mr. Hicks shot all three students in the head, and that his Facebook postings were full of scorn for religion in all forms.
Officials say the police are now searching his computer for signs of a motive or evidence that he had planned the attack.
Muslims all over the world, especially in messages on Twitter marked with the phrase #muslimlivesmatter, had been pushing for days for a full federal investigation.
The government of Jordan — former home of the family of the two sisters who were killed — has advised that it was closely watching the case, while the prime minister of Turkey rebuked Mr. Obama early Friday for not speaking out. Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, also extended condolences to the victims’ families.
Across the United States, Muslim groups have organized dozens of vigils, including a group prayer outside the White House on Friday afternoon.
Many advocates for Muslims, civil rights groups and the victims’ families said Friday that they welcomed the F.B.I. inquiry, adding that it sent a much-needed message that the federal government took anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias seriously.
“Everybody in both families — brothers, sisters, parents — believes wholeheartedly that this is a hate crime, so they feel validated that the F.B.I. is looking into it,” said Linda Sarsour, who has acted as a spokeswoman for the families. “We’re in a pretty critical juncture when it comes to Americans and Islam.”
The shooting has heightened concerns about personal security in the Muslim community. Fire damaged an Islamic center in Houston on Friday morning, prompting speculation about another bias crime. And Muslim leaders have voiced fears that a “Summit on Countering Violent Extremism,” with Mr. Obama scheduled to meet with Muslim-American leaders next week, will fan anti-Muslim sentiment.
The F.B.I. and the White House appear to have shifted course in part because of the worry and outrage.
The F.B.I. at first said that it would aid in the investigation by local and state authorities, but would not conduct its own investigation. When asked on Wednesday about the shootings, a White House spokesman said, “We’re going to await the results of that investigation before we say anything.”
Then, late Thursday, the F.B.I. issued a statement that federal authorities had “opened a parallel preliminary inquiry,” something short of a full-fledged investigation, “to determine whether or not any federal laws were violated related to the case.”
Those who have talked with the victims’ families say they have serious doubts about the capacity of local authorities to handle the case.
“As of yesterday, the family hadn’t even been approached by law enforcement,” Ms. Sarsour said on Friday. “They were already feeling like there was something missing.”
Ripley Rand, the United States attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said his office was committed to fully investigating the case, adding that it was important that Muslims know that the federal government was taking what happened seriously. “I intend to review every piece of evidence involved in it to make sure that we do our part to see that justice is done,” Mr. Rand said. “This is obviously a matter of global concern.”
